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Hate crime-plank
Position on Hate Crime I hate all crime. All need to be safe and sound within Pittsburgh and the region. Pittsburgh's position in recent years, at the brink of a collapse, put plenty of issues on the agenda. As such, I would not seek to push changes to existing laws in many areas. Rather, at first, we need to enforce all laws with respect and constant supervision in tireless ways. I would choose to side-step the issue of changing hate-crime legislation. Rather, wrangle with the city's budget, citizen budget gatherings, technology, parks and other matters. Of course we should not tolerate crimes of hate. The mayor must push law enforcement officials to make hate crimes a serious and high priority. The mayor does not need extra leverage in the form of new legislation to push the police to handle these offenses in different ways. Alone or with others, I'll do my best to push the law enformcement officials as best I can. The city will be relentless in our aggressiveness in preventing and prosecuting acts of hate crime. The mayor and as a city council member or senator, I'd meet with anyone with charges concerning hate crime acts. I'd not seek to alter laws in this realm in the first term. I feel it is unfair to grant special status to certain protected groups when everyone needs special protection against the bad actors. Special protections Before Three Rivers Stadium's Implosion :Three Rivers Stadium was slated for demolition and was wired with explosives. Meanwhile, a citizen spots a group of teens or young adults on the prowl in the south neighorhoods with spray cans tagging properties. The citizen calls 911 to report the vandals as they are making wide stretch of distructive acts, littering the street with grafitti. This first-person account makes a tip to police so the kids could be caught red-handed, so to speak. But no. The extra police on duty that shift were pulled to Three Rivers Stadium to guard the gates and stripped down sports arena, before it was relegated to dust. The kids would not get caught that night. No police officers could respond to the call. A day later the damage reports were made, and the damages were obvious. Grafitti had been a serious issue in the neighborhoods and still is today. Upon a Penguins Stanley Cup :When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, downtown was blanked in police. There were police at many intersections and at the entry points to the city. They were all deployed downtown. Meanwhile, the neighorhoods were on their own. Two policemen covered 20 blocks and about 50 bars on the South Side. I witnessed an unhappy gasoline tanker truck inched down a totally clogged East Carson Street with 20 or more happy Pens fans on the back of the truck swinging and hanging from the stop lights at each intersection. Kegs were on the sidewalks. Meanwhile, outside of Lord & Taylor, the only ones around for hours had been the pigeons. :These examples shows how past priorities favor the wrong elements. I would not care to protect the stadium and let the neighborhoods suffer. If someone breaks into Three Rivers Stadium, they'd be foolish, climbing a fence, sneaking past private security, and tripping among explosives. I would rather have vandals tag Three Rivers Stadium, before it is blow up, rather than 50 to 100 properties in a neighborhood that are here to stay. If vandals were there while it was blow up, it would be the fault of the vandals. I can't push to stiffen hate crime punishments as I hate crime so much I might be guilty myself. Hate crime legislation criminalizes thought and denies equal protection. Let's get back to the budget, shall we? One moved to violence by hatred of a class of people presents a greater danger to society than one who me rely hates an individual. Let's work harder to track down the hateful. Catching the bad has little to do with what is done after they are caught. There is no special hate crime budget funding. Links * Hate crime category:Platform_Planks_from_Mark_Rauterkus